SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Club Soccer & ODP BFA & MPSC

Agreed. Clubs like MPSC and Charleston United, who can not offer what is needed to the top players, have to do the proper thing for development and push their better players to the other better players, who are pretty much at the Bridge FA.

Instead, the usual propaganda machine of May tryout time begins with all the great promises of new coaches, new players and new services. Then, in the usual cycle, nothing with impact changes for another calendar year EXCEPT more young players who have wasted 12 months of development.

Posters on this site have mentioned Bridge FA has to provide better service to get these players. They can improve some things, like all clubs always can, but that's not the main factor in these players not coming.

There is a lack of education in the youth soccer communities in South Carolina, in this case Charleston. It's the job of DOC's, at clubs like MPSC and Charleston United, to provide the real service of honesty and education of what's best for the development of top players: Get in an environment where you are with and against all the best players/coaches as much as possible!

The merger of MPSC and Charleston United proves they know consolidation is needed but to do so in a meaningless way, and not work with the Bridge FA, shows that personal egos and differences are hindering what is best for some young, good players.

Regardless of who finally wins a State Cup next week, the fact of Bridge FA and CESA each having five (5) teams is just a small example of how the elite model works.

Imagine if the top players in the less successful clubs (MPSC and Charleston United) had the honest push from a DOC to go with the elite club (Bridge FA) in the area and have a chance to compete at a higher level. You might have ALOT more kids playing in the State Cup Final Four this weekend and, possibly, getting another additonal month of intense training for Regionals.

Instead, they're getting ready for tryouts for another year of average, or below average, development?

Beezer,

Good thoughts on having the best players gravitate to the highest level in order for them to max out their potential and reach the highest level. Your club (Bridge FA) will no doubt benefit from having these kids play in your elite program....and the kids will benefit from the exposure and the high level training they receive.

But how about compensation for the Mount Pleasant's and Charleston United's who develop these kids into the players that you want & need? If these kids are going to move into your professional environment, shouldn't you do what professional clubs world-wide do to acquire these resources? Compensate the clubs they came from? What's a fair value....$1,000 oer player, $1,500 per player?

Beezer,
While the meetings were taking place in the lowcountry about this merger...All clubs were involved..including SSC and Bridge so there could of been a consolidation of the best players but some chose not to get involved..You make it sound as if MPSC and CUSC are the ones holding out..and that is simply not the case..I know that one DOC has recommended that some of his players tryout at Bridge because he did not feel he could field a strong team in their age group and I saw most of those players at Bridge tryouts...I watched some of the younger age groups at state a few weeks ago..I think they were 10s and 11s.I was very impressed with one MPSC girls team that has great skill and moved the ball around quite well...I wonder who taught them that? Maybe..Just maybe soocer is being taught everywhere..Which girls team won state this year? Yes, some of those players are on Bridge teams but who developed those players at a young age? Let's give credit where credit is due..

No one is staying that soccer development does not take place at SSC, MT P and CUSC. The point is Charleston needs a unified approach if teams are going to be very successful in the state league consistently. If anyone has kids that play against competitive team outside Charleston, you would see that our teams lack dept to really compete.
All talk and no action, no one has the fortitude to do the right thing for the kids.
Until the clubs act and put egos aside, Charleston youth club soccer would be behind the upstate clubs. The real issue is no one trusts each other.

If MPSC and Charleston United support a merger but it's with themselves instead of with an already established alliance that is doing well, receptive to them joining and is set up to succeed for the player, isn't that holding out in the most obvious manner? Or, because the DOCs at those clubs are worried about what their title, role, and income would be in a Bridge FA merger over the young players' development, then that's a viable reason to not to join?

You're correct that there are players being developed at the youngest ages at MPSC and Charleston United and they do deserve credit for getting players started...absolutely! That's not the point, though. I just want to hear a good reason why those developed players do not need to be encouraged by the DOCs to go to a place where there are more good players to develop them even more and at a faster rate? And if its CESA or CUFC instead of the Bridge FA and travel is not an issue, then so be it.

It's such a small percentage of better players and if the DOCs care about development over winning, like they say, they could still run their programs without the better players and send the elite to the Bridge FA. So why not do it? Because they DO want to try and win BUT can't!

Then, the same cycle happens. The players stay at those clubs and quickly reach a point where they are ready for more, however, they are urged by DOCs to stay with the same talent pool they developed past and outgrew. Now, they have no chance to continue to get better at the rate they could.

No matter how good an individual team or player becomes at those clubs, it is ALWAYS better if, by U11 or U12, they have the chance to be with a higher quantity of higher quality. Always! And in the Lowcountry and Coastal District, that's the Bridge FA...not MPSC and not Charleston United.

The only reason players go to the Bridge FA from MPSC and Charleston United is because 1) the player/family chooses against the coaches' will and/or 2) those clubs don't have the player and coach resources to have a team and NOT because DOCs are helping the Bridge FA cause.

"No matter how good an individual team or player becomes at those clubs, it is ALWAYS better if, by U11 or U12, they have the chance to be with a higher quantity of higher quality."

Beezer, you obviously have an uneducated opinion in several areas. I do not have the time to waste going through each of your inaccurate statements of what you think is correct but will just point out one; the statement above, where did you learn that "it is always better for U11 or U12 players"? If you had any coaching education or training in sports/child psychology you would know that your above statement is not correct.

You need to be more careful on trying to educate people with what you think is correct and go with facts. Try attending a USYSA National Youth License and then come back and make your statments. Maybe then you could accurately bash DOC's and clubs about what's good player development. Maybe you would also understand a little clearer to why clubs are not jumping into relationship with the Bridge and jeopordizing player development. I think you will find everyone agrees to the concept of working together but have serious concerns to how bussiness is being conducted.

If we want to talk obvious, then you must have taken the domestic coaching courses due to the spit back of "child psychology" in the same sentence as player development.

You think Brazilians, Argentinians and Italians are worrying a whole lot about child psychology when they are signing players at 11, 12 and 13 years of age and, in some cases, relocating them from home?

Are we at the level with, say, Brazilians? No. But are we creating spoiled, pampered and soft players in a comfort zone in our soccer culture? Yes.

Try taking the NSCAA Premier Course in a foreign country and see what is emphasized. Or better yet, spend a week with a foreign professional club and follow their player development patterns. Then we can chat. When you're trying to build a culture in a sport the world has mastered, then you have to be open-minded to not Americanize too much.

PLEASE, PLEASE waste my time and make me understand a little clearer each inaccurate statement because, obviously, I'm missing something.

And, thanks for mentioning that how business is conducted is more important then player development. If you don't like it, take all those upset adults with you and step aside and let the players still get what they deserve.

CHT,

MPSC and CUSC did hold out and made the choice not to join SSC, JIYSC, and BFA at the time the merger was taking place. Then this year, with MPSC and CUSC being extremely instrumental, tried to form the Lowcountry Alliance that included BFA. Trying to form an alliance shows that they also feel the need to step it up to compete. Why not join the existing alliance if they felt one was needed for their players and others in the lowcountry? Maybe MPSC just needs total control.

I think everyone is in agreement that the lowcountry should be under one umbrella..Ask any DOC and he will say yes..So the problem is who is going to work for who and who is going to be in charge..The other problem is that these local club boards can't seem to get together without one of these paid employees knawing on their ear about what they should do or I will pull my coaches out if you do this..Does not sound like the players best interest is being served to me..I think everybody wants total control so why don't these clubs hire a fresh face and let these current DOCs work within the program? I could stand for some fresh air around here...As far as player development..The ones that get developed are the ones willing to pay for it..When we started out some six years ago my kids were playing micro and rec..the parent next to me was anybody..a factory worker,teacher..anybody and as we moved up to higher levels of competition the parents are now successful in business or doctors and lawyers..So I can only reason to think that genetics has nothing to do with development and has everything to do with money and who is willing to pay..There are groups of atheles out there that will never see any development because of their income not because of their ability...I for one want ONE club in the lowcountry and I don't care what we call it

As a parent of one of those players stuck in limbo between BFA and MPSC/CUSC, I have some questions.

1. Why did the "mt pleasant rec person in charge" say no to BFA and yes to MPSC/CUSC merger? Who's really in charge?
2. With all the MPSC players going to BFA, why do they not have access to fields in MPSC? These players' parents paid and are still paying for the fields.
3. IF MPSC cannot field a competitive team for the higher level players, and it's about the kids, why can't MPSC share fields with clubs that do?
4. If it's about the kids, why is my child a nervous wreck because MPSC says you HAVE to be at tryouts on Monday night and BFA says you HAVE to be at tryouts on Monday night?
5. If clubs aren't trying to hold the kids "hostage", why weren't tryouts scheduled on different nights?
6. If MPSC wants to provide a place for challenge players, why do they have a high school coach? This puts the club in a position of LIMITING the amount of players from that coach's school because a high school coach has the #'s restrictions by the high school league rules?
7. If BFA wants to provide a place for ALL challenge players, why do they have a high school coach with #'s limitations? Both these coaches come from an area with only one high school.
8. What is it that BFA is offering or not offering, to MPSC (or the rec dept) and CUSC?
9. BFA what are you doing to get more central locations so players are not sitting in 60-90 minutes of dangerous rush hour traffic to get to practice?

In the beginning I could see the reluctance to merge with BFA. Hey, if you've got a good thing going, why give it to someone else?

However, with BFA "cherry picking" the good players one by one, it has become an environment of diluting the waters in the low country. The challenge or elite player has to make a team with a small pool of 15-16 from our entire tri county area to play at BFA. If not, they go back to their community club that now is really hurting for higher level players. Sigh, so you go back to a classic team where the parents and players are really nice, but are not really committed to soccer.

Folks, this is especially hurting our kids in the U15-18 group. You fought the BFA concept. The BFA concept seems to be working very well and looks like it is here to stay.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE get it together so our challenge level kids can be united to play with and against other challenge kids without having to participate in the circus we now have.